[6][7][8] His father and grandfather were murdered at Auschwitz, but he survived the war in the "Glass House" in Budapest[9] and returned to Eger to lead the few Jewish survivors.

"[13] In 1961, Sofer constructed a new building in the empty lot adjacent to the yeshiva, named Ohel Shimon-Erlau after his grandfather.

[14][15] Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said he was a unique figure, beloved and admired by secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The death of a public leader and head of a dynasty who was a Holocaust survivor and refugee who lost his father, mother and sisters in the labor and death camps, must also remind us of the respect and concern for the Holocaust survivors whose numbers are steadily dwindling, and the obligation to tell our people's history until the last generation.

[12] The main communities are in Katamon, Ezrat Torah, El'ad, Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, Ashdod and Haifa.

Sofer was considered a leading halakhic authority with enormous influence on the Orthodox Jewish community, as well as an expert in Israeli politics and security issues.

[18] They believed that the Messiah must arrive prior to the liberation of the Holy Land and that the Hebrew language was designated solely for the use of Torah study and prayer.

This ideology allows for dialogue with the Zionist leaders and for representation in the Knesset, though it does not give mandate or halachic justification to the legislative system of the State of Israel.

He also insisted that even discussing the possibility of such concessions shows weakness and would encourage Arab attacks, and thus endanger Jewish lives.

He was quoted as saying to Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Silvan Shalom: "I am not prepared to cede even one grain of the Land of Israel to the Arabs.

"[19][20] Sofer was also opposed to the unilateral pullout from Gaza and was quoted as saying, "Whoever leads to the transfer (of Jews from parts of Israel) is destroying the country".